The Meaning of 2 Samuel 13:16 Explained

2 Samuel 13:16

KJV: And she said unto him, There is no cause: this evil in sending me away is greater than the other that thou didst unto me. But he would not hearken unto her.

YLT: And she saith to him, 'Because of the circumstances this evil is greater than the other that thou hast done with me -- to send me away;' and he hath not been willing to hearken to her,

Darby: And she said to him, There is no cause for this evil in sending me away, which is greater than the other that thou didst to me. But he would not hearken to her.

ASV: And she said unto him, Not so, because this great wrong in putting me forth is worse than the other that thou didst unto me. But he would not hearken unto her.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And she said  unto him, [There is] no cause:  this evil  in sending me away  [is] greater  than the other  that thou didst  unto me. But he would  not hearken  unto her. 

What does 2 Samuel 13:16 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Samuel 13:15-27 - Absalom Executes Judgment
When men yield to irregular passion, they go from one extreme to the other-from wicked love to wicked hate. If women would but realize this, how often it would save them from lives of misery. To yield to a man's impulse is not to secure his loyalty, but to alienate and perhaps destroy it.
Absalom was Tamar's own brother and, since her father had failed her, was therefore her natural protector. Recommending her to hold her peace, Absalom quietly awaited a suitable opportunity for wreaking vengeance; but she, poor girl, had to face a blighted life. The crime of her betrayal would hang over it as a dark cloud which even the vengeance that Absalom was about to take could never remove. How many myriads of girls have had to face the same sad lot!
It was David's duty, as her father, to punish the evildoer. The law enjoined the penalty of death for such an offense, Leviticus 18:9; Leviticus 18:29. But David's hands were not clean. He had himself incurred the same penalty, and could not condemn in another what he had condoned in himself. Besides this, the Septuagint adds, "he loved Amnon, because he was his first-born." How tortuous are the ways of sin! [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Samuel 13

1  Amnon loving Tamar, by Jonadab's counsel feigning himself sick, ravishes her
15  He hates her, and shamefully turns her away
19  Absalom entertains her, and conceals his purpose
23  At a sheep-shearing among all the king's sons, he kills Amnon
31  David grieving at the news, is comforted by Jonadab
37  Absalom flies to Talmai at Geshur

What do the individual words in 2 Samuel 13:16 mean?

So she said to him not because of evil great this [is worse] than the other that you did to me of sending me away but not he would listen to her
וַתֹּ֣אמֶר ל֗וֹ אַל־ אוֹדֹ֞ת הָרָעָ֤ה הַגְּדוֹלָה֙ הַזֹּ֔את מֵאַחֶ֛רֶת אֲשֶׁר־ עָשִׂ֥יתָ עִמִּ֖י לְשַׁלְּחֵ֑נִי וְלֹ֥א אָבָ֖ה לִשְׁמֹ֥עַֽ לָֽהּ

וַתֹּ֣אמֶר  So  she  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
ל֗וֹ  to  him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
אוֹדֹ֞ת  because 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: אֹדֹות  
Sense: cause.
הָרָעָ֤ה  of  evil 
Parse: Article, Adjective, feminine singular
Root: רַע 
Sense: bad, evil.
הַגְּדוֹלָה֙  great 
Parse: Article, Adjective, feminine singular
Root: גָּבֹול 
Sense: great.
הַזֹּ֔את  this 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, feminine singular
Root: זׄאת  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, such.
מֵאַחֶ֛רֶת  [is  worse]  than  the  other 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adjective, feminine singular
Root: אַחֵר  
Sense: another, other, following.
אֲשֶׁר־  that 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
עָשִׂ֥יתָ  you  did 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
עִמִּ֖י  to  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: עִם  
Sense: with.
לְשַׁלְּחֵ֑נִי  of  sending  me  away 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Piel, Infinitive construct, first person common singular
Root: שָׁלַח  
Sense: to send, send away, let go, stretch out.
וְלֹ֥א  but  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
אָבָ֖ה  he  would 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָבָה  
Sense: to be willing, consent.
לִשְׁמֹ֥עַֽ  listen 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
לָֽהּ  to  her 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular

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